City-wide “camping” ban taking effect in La Crosse

La Crosse’s efforts to allow homeless people to camp overnight or longer in city parks are coming to an end.

Earlier this month, the La Crosse city council voted to prohibit camping in parks and on other city property, which will start at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

That council vote came after a previous attempt this year to limit camping to 12 hours in one spot.

City council president Chris Kahlow commented during the August council meeting about why the encampment idea did not work.

“Why I think we have failed when we had chosen sites is simply because we do not have the staff and resources, and I guess we thought we could succeed,” Kahlow said.

Dozens of people attended that council meeting, which ended up being a 7-5 vote approving the ban.

The new rule follows experiments in letting people camp in parks such as Houska and Cameron, which led to property damage and littering.

City Hall has posted notices for people to remove their property from parks, and also from the marsh and veterans trail areas. Any property left behind will be thrown away.

The request to vacate city land included an offer by city officials to store personal property for up to 30 days.

The Vietnam Veterans Trail will be closed temporarily during the cleanup process.